A hypothermia cap (also referred to as cold cap or cooling cap) is a therapeutic device used to cool the human scalp. Its most prominent medical applications are in preventing or reducing alopecia in chemotherapy, and for preventing cerebral palsy in babies born with neonatal encephalopathy caused by hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). It can also be used to provide neuroprotection after cardiac arrest, to inhibit stroke paralysis, and as cryotherapy for migraine headaches.
Worn tight on the head, hypothermia caps are typically made of a synthetic such as neoprene, silicone or polyurethane, and filled with a coolant agent such as ice or gel which is either frozen to a very cold temperature (−25 to −30 °C or −13 to −22 °F before application or continuously cooled by an auxiliary control unit.
In the United States a course of treatment may cost US$1,500 to US$3,000.[1]